Veteran pacer Stuart Broad is very upset with the England Cricket Board's (ECB) future plans without him. However, he will seek talks with England's new managing director and coach this summer before deciding if he has a future in Test cricket.
On Sunday, Stuart Broad broke his silence on the controversial decision by interim managing director Sir Andrew Strauss to drop both him and James Anderson from England's tour of the West Indies. He said it in a passionate column, the mail on Sunday.
/sportzpoint/media/post_attachments/fad57fb791487a703836152c4ecce8c477040eb2b6fed1ebbfdb641f4248a4f1.jpeg)
Read Also: "Neither Anderson nor I saw this coming": Stuart Broad after exclusion from England squad
However, Broad is clearly upset that he isn't part of England's immediate plans.
"I have to confess that I wasn't expecting the phone call I received from Andrew Strauss on Tuesday that started with him saying: 'I've got some bad news. That's not what you really want to hear on selection matters and not something I have heard very often during my career of 152 Test caps."
Stuart Broad wrote in his column for the Mail on Sunday
"I always try to find a positive in the hand that has been dealt with me. To be honest, though, that's been quite tricky this time because the decision to leave me out of the tour of the West Indies has hit me pretty hard." Broad added.
Stuart Broad was also left out of the Test series at home against West Indies a couple of years ago
Broad was also left out of the Test series at home against West Indies in 2020. However, he had not pleased him and he had voiced his displeasure immediately. But this decision, in the context of improving England's overseas performances' has left the 35-year-old confused.
"I could take being dropped if I had let my standards slip. But facing up to being overlooked when they haven't is another thing altogether. That's why I was so outspoken when I have left out against West Indies in Southampton a couple of years ago. It felt unjust. The same again here but with the added factor that I am struggling to put things into context. It's hard to do so when all you've had is a five-minute phone call and nothing else."
Stuart Broad added to his column
Broad opens up about his mother's suggestion after he misses out the upcoming tour
"Time can be a great healer, she (mother) says. But right now, I feel gutted. Do I need to prove myself again? In my mind, I've nothing to prove. I am a proven performer. So it is now about the English cricketing summer and mentally and physically targeting the home series against New Zealand in June. What I would say is there have been times when I have been able to answer such questions with ease. But as things stand, feeling as though I've performed well and deserve to be on the side makes it hard."
Broad said
"Understandably, people will ask if there has therefore been some fall-out behind the scenes. A bit of a rumble during the Ashes, but I can categorically say that is not the case. Hence, neither Jimmy nor I saw this coming. We were blindsided. Also Read, the atmosphere within the team, although we were getting beaten by Australia, was good. I repeat, the reason I was given for being left out was they wanted to change tack in trying to win abroad," added Broad.
Now it remains to be seen whether captain Joe Root is in agreement with the decisions and the squad he has been given for what is meant to be a reset of England's red-ball cricket.